


Stepping into puddles

by Ingol



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Accidents, Almost everything's an accident, Basically a lot of things change, Brief mentions of Reiko, Gen, Madara/ Nyanko-sensei is a big softie, This Natsume may or may not be kind of a troll, Time Travel, and Natsume's parents, but still remain the same
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-06-04 16:03:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6665173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ingol/pseuds/Ingol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Instead of being turned into a kid, an accident causes the ayakashi to send Natsume back in time, to back when he's still three.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Natsume looked around him and rubbed his eyes.

"Nyanko-sensei? Where are you?" He called out, and stopped, startled by the sound of his own voice. It was much higher pitched, much softer and squeakier.

He stared at his hands.

"Maybe an ayakashi did this. That's right, I'm just having a nightmare." He nodded to himself, never mind the fact that it all felt so real.

He continued walking down the sidewalk, to the place where his house stood, just like so many times before in his dreams.

"Papa! I'm home!" He called out as he took off his shoes. No one answered him. A panicked feeling overcame him. "Papa? Papa?" Natsume ran into the house. His father lay, lifeless on the floorboards. Natsume blinked back tears.

"Papa?" He whispered.

"Dad?" No one answered. A strange feeling overtook him. This was the part where he had fainted, so why was he still dreaming?

Slowly, with shaking hands, Natsume pinched himself.

He winced at the stinging pain, but there was no change in surroundings, his father still lay unmoving on the ground, and there was-

"No Nyanko-sensei..." He mumbled softly, in shock.

The reality of the situation he was in overtook him.

He would have to face all the unloving, harsh relatives, with no Nyanko-sensei, no Fujiwaras to take him in, no friends to accompany him and help him, no friendly ayakashi, no nothing. He would have to face all those again.

Perhaps it was due to his child's body, perhaps it was due to the fact that his father was dead in front of him, but Natsume Takashi cried and wailed, until he fell unconscious.

 

* * *

 

Takashi sat in the car, listening to his aunt's biting words.

He wanted to scream that no, his mother loved his father, that his father was never cursed, but he was too afraid.

 

He sat a distance away from the coffin, looking into the distance, and occasionally glancing at his father's portrait.

He distantly remembered this scene.

All his father's relatives visited, but very few of them paid him any mind.

They had shunned him from the moment he had pointed out a being that they couldn't see. He couldn't recall if the Fujiwaras had come or not.

He sat there, observing quietly. A rustling of bushes in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

He stiffened and crept to the area, ignoring his relatives' snide comments.

"Who's there?" He whispered, no longer as afraid of ayakashi as he was back then.

No one replied.

Takashi stared at the obviously-hiding ayakashi for a moment longer before he sighed and made to get up.

A tugging from a hand that shot out to grab him on the collar made him fall back down.

"You can see me?" The voice was female, and it belonged... to a pudgy tanuki. Takashi blinked when he was briefly reminded of Nyanko-sensei.

"Ah, y-yes." Natsume admitted softly. The tanuki made to say something, but froze at the sounds of footsteps.

Natsume was carelessly jerked out of the bushes by an uncle.

"At least have the courtesy to behave, boy!" He yelled at Natsume.

Natsume looked down. The tanuki carefully scuttled out.

She glanced between the boy and the leaving adult.

Seemingly making a decision, the tanuki nodded and transformed into the meaner human with a 'poof!' Natsume stared at the tanuki.

"Behave boy! I'm so courteous and you should be more like me!" The tanuki mimicked.

Despite feeling that he shouldn't be laughing at his relatives, Natsume let a snicker escape from his throat.

A smirk quavered uncertainly on his lips.

The tanuki transformed back to her original form and let a smug smile rest on her face.

"Thank you." Natsume whispered as he walked back to where the funeral was.

"No problem! Friends?" Natsume froze and looked at the tanuki that couldn't be older than he physically was. She had a hopeful look on her face.

"I don't know if I can stay here, but yeah! We're friends!" Takashi beamed.

The tanuki smiled back and scurried along with Natsume towards the solemn gathering, smile slipping off when she looked at the coffin.

"He looks like you."

"He's my father." Natsume was careful to keep his voice to a whisper.

"Oh." The tanuki stopped talking and stared at the man in the coffin.

Takashi stared at his father and thought he felt a phantom feeling of someone ruffling his hair.

"Papa..." He whispered, eyes downcast, but unable to cry.

He hugged the tanuki to his chest, feeling grateful when she didn't protest.

"Humans are so fragile." She said, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Yeah. I guess we are." Takashi muttered into her fur, ignoring his relative's words about 'that weird troublesome boy'.

The tanuki glared at them, her indignant fury unseen by the oblivious people.

"What's your name? I'm Kipo!"

"Natsume Takashi. Kipo's a weird name." He commented absently, watching the whole process like it was a dream.

"Rude!" Kipo stuck out her tongue, but quieted when the coffin was moved. Takashi closed his eyes.

 

* * *

 

"I'm moving. Somewhere in Nishio." Natsume told the tanuki quietly as he packed.

"Why can't you stay with me?" Kipo whined.

"Human laws and all that." Natsume told her, knowing that the yōkai laws were extremely important to them, enough that Kipo would stop whining. Kipo had a thoughtful look on her face. Despite only knowing her for days, Natsume had a sinking feeling that she was going to do something he wouldn't like to hear.

"What if I go with you?" She suggested.

"You can't!" He hissed.

"Why not? We're friends right? Besides, someone needs to protect you from all those dangerous humans!" Natsume stared at the brown tanuki.

Before, when it had been Nyanko-sensei, he had trusted Nyanko-sensei to care enough for him to protect him. But now, with Kipo, while he trusted her to care, he had no idea if she was strong enough.

"We're friends, yes. But what about your family?" He tried to convince the tanuki.

"Mama will understand. She told me to protect and keep my friends close!" Somehow, Natsume had the feeling that Kipo's mother wasn't referring to humans.

Kipo ended up coming with him, but not without a promise to visit at least once a year. Takashi grabbed a bag that held his essentials and followed his aunt begrudgingly into the car.

"Silly boy, hugging air." His uncle muttered.

"The boy must be missing his father." His aunt gossiped back. Natsume ignored them, and settled with watching the scenery with Kipo making unneeded, but appreciated comments.

No matter how much he had wished this was a dream, it wasn't. Because dreams ended, even the bad ones, but this- he couldn't see this ending anytime soon. He missed Nyanko-sensei, the Fujiwaras, and all the others, but they were all fifteen years away.

 

* * *

 

Takashi hurried away from the one-eyed ayakashi, Kipo leading the way in the front.

He vaguely remembered this scene as well.

Hadn't he stumbled on a tree branch when he made for the forest?

Deciding to take a different route, Takashi whispered softly to the tanuki and ran on the streets, neatly avoiding passers-by as he tried to find a shrine.

"There!" Kipo gestured with her tail, turning around the corner sharply. Natsume followed.

"Run! We're almost-! Oof!" There was a soft thud.

Natsume skidded to a stop, uncaring of the ayakashi that wanted to eat them, more concerned with his friend.

"Ki?" He asked, and paused when he saw a familiar gecko run up and down on a canvas of skin.

"Uh..." Natsume stuttered, gingerly making his way around the other's piercing eyes to get closer to the tanuki.

He jumped when he heard the ugly shriek of the approaching ayakashi. Snapping out of whatever trance she had been in, Kipo hopped to her paws and ran.

"Hurry up! The shrine's this way! I can feel it!"

Without thinking, Takashi grabbed the boy- Natori- and dragged the other along, a string of garbled protests rising from the other's throat. It stopped, however, when he caught sight of the ayakashi chasing them.

Natsume briefly wondered what the ayakashi looked like to Natori-san who had once said that he hadn't been able to see ayakashi as clearly as Natsume, before deciding that this wasn't the place for all that.

 

"Over there!" Kipo's fluffy tail pointed to the general left. Natsume followed after her, and rushed into the shrine clearing while Kipo hit a barrier.

"Kipo?" Natsume asked, having forgotten that Kipo was considered an ayakashi as well.

"Don't worry about me, I'll hide!" Kipo told him and jumped into the bushes.

The ayakashi knocked viciously against that invisible barrier, and left.

"Kipo! Wait!" He called out after the tanuki, but she was gone. He turned back and barely stopped a yelp from escaping when he came face-to-face with a pair of red eyes.

"Ah, um, sorry!" Takashi blushed and scuttled backwards, out of the zone.

"You can see that?" The blonde gestured towards the fleeing ayakashi.

"Y-yes?" Takashi had a sinking feeling that he had just changed the future.

"What's your name?" The teenager all but demanded.

"N-Nat-"

"Don't bother Natsu!" Kipo pounced out of the shrubbery, and towards the blonde, who easily side-stepped her. Natsume scooped up the scowling tanuki.

"It's fine, Kipo." He murmured, then faced the teenager.

"You can see them too?" This time, Natori had wore a smirk.

"Yes." The teenager opened his mouth, presumably to invite Natsume to join him or something along those lines, but Kipo jumped out of his arms.

"Cake!" The tanuki squealed.

"I'm sorry! See you!" Natsume called over his shoulder, running after the raccoon-dog.

 

"He smells like an exorcist. I hate exorcists. They destroy homes." Kipo informed Natsume, chewing on a small slice of cake that Natsume had bought.

The both of them sat on a bench and watched cars go by.

"Oh." Natsume wasn't sure of what to say to that.

_'_ _Once, I would have manipulated you to join me, but now you're my friend. I want you to stay away from ayakashi.'_

Natsume frowned when the recollection came to him.

That's right, he thought, Natori-san had said that once.

"Don't trust him. He can see me too, but exorcists are mean." Kipo harrumphed, making herself comfortable on Natsume's lap.

Natsume gingerly stroked her brown fur. He pressed his lips together.

 

The urban life was too... fast-paced for him.

"I wanna go to the country-side." Takashi whispered.

"Then let's go!" Kipo beamed up at him.

"But I can't just leave!"

"Because of those humans, right?" Kipo frowned.

"Y-yeah." A moment of silence. Then the both of them sighed in tandem. Kipo stretched herself out.

"Too bad." She mused. Takashi resisted sticking his tongue out back at her.

 

A week later, Takashi found another one of his relatives quarreling with his current foster family about taking him in.

He sighed. As expected.

He hugged Kipo closer to his chest.

"Stupid humans, they wouldn't know good people when they see 'em." Kipo scoffed.

Takashi tapped her nose in reprimanding, but felt his heart lighten slightly.

 

"Ne, Kipo? What do you feel about the countryside?" Natsume asked. He wasn't going to wait any longer, perhaps it was time for him to make the first step.

"Finally." Kipo told the six-year-old.

 

* * *

 

"Reiko! Give it back!" An ayakashi shrieked, rushing at Natsume.

"Give what back?" Kipo yelled as Natsume ran to the shrine where he knew that Nyanko-sensei was sealed.

"How would I know?" Natsume yelled back, despite knowing what exactly was stolen.

"Give it back!" The ayakashi screamed. Takashi dived towards the shrine, breaking the seal.

A calico cat appeared with a 'poof'. The ayakashi fled. Kipo tried to flee, but was stopped by Takashi.

"Thanks for setting me free." The cat said.

"Uh..." Natsume blinked, feeling an odd feeling rise to his chest.

"Reiko?" The cat seemed to frown as he sniffed Takashi's scent.

"I'm Natsume. Reiko was my grandma." Takashi said.

"So the Book of Friends is with you? Give it to me!" The cat threatened.

Takashi sniffed, and he felt a pain in his chest as his vision blurred.

"Natsu?" Kipo whispered. Natsume cried and hugged the startled cat to his chest, tanuki on the ground watching him worriedly.

"You made Natsu cry!" Kipo accused.

"He's just weak then! And how dare you speak to a great yōkai like me like that, small-fry?" The cat turned up his nose at the tanuki, despite still being used as a cushion by the child- Reiko's grandson.

"I'll speak to you however I want! You made my friend cry! You- you bully!" Kipo snapped, still shaking slightly.

A shine of light and Takashi found himself on a great white beast.

Kipo cowered.

"I'll eat you for that!" The beast growled.

Takashi hurriedly wiped his tears away, and punched the beast in the eye. He yowled and transformed back into a cat.

"How rude!"

"You're the rude one!" Kipo snapped, hiding behind Takashi's leg.

"You can't even face me!"

"Natsu can face you!" Kipo retorted.

"Please don't make my decisions for me..." Natsume sighed when he realized that neither of them were listening.

"Could you please tell me about this Book of Friends?" Cue explanation that he had already heard before.

"How about we make a deal? You protect me and Kipo, and I'll give you the book when I die." Nyanko-sensei looked contemplative.

"I'll protect you, but when you die, I'm not going to protect the tanuki." He decided.

"Ok." Natsume hurriedly agreed, just as Kipo shouted, "I don't need your protection anyway!"

* * *

 

"...You don't stay in the area?" Nyanko-sensei asked.

"Nope." Takashi told him on the train. Kipo snickered and jostled with the calico cat for the spot on Natsume's lap.

* * *

 

"Where were you boy? And you brought back another pet?"

Natsume blankly listened to his uncle shout.

"I could eat him for you." Nyanko-sensei offered, baring his teeth.

"No thank you." Natsume told the cat, walking into the house and rummaging through his belongings.

He picked out a book with the words 'Book of Friends'.

"So all those ayakashi were Natsu's grandma's friends?" Kipo asked.

"Of course not! Reiko challenged them and when they lost, they had to write their names down!" Nyanko-sensei scoffed.

"Then why is it called the book of friends?" Kipo pointed out.

"Because she was lonely and wanted those yōkai as friends." Takashi muttered.

A short moment of silence ensued at his words.

"Boy! Get down here! If you skip dinner, we're not leaving any for you!" The words of his uncle drifted over.

"Hmph, insolent humans. They don't even feed such a high-class yōkai like me!" Nyanko-sensei sniffed.

"You can have my dinner, Nyanko-sensei." Takashi offered.

"You can't do that! He's all skin and bones!" Kipo protested.

The cat looked at Takashi, then jabbed him in the ribs. Takashi winced.

"You're too thin. How could I call myself a bodyguard if I let you starve?" Nyanko-sensei said haughtily.

Takashi smiled weakly and hurried down the stairs.

"Softie."

"Shut up, low-class."

"...How do we get rid of the humans without interfering with the laws?"

"Take Natsume away, of course!"

"That's right, you're big!" Kipo hopped up on her paws.

"We can take Natsu’s things to where you were, then take Natsume while he's sleeping!" For once, both yōkai agreed.

Madara wondered if he really was getting soft, or if it was because it was Reiko's grandson they were talking about here.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where Natsume meets more friends and acts his 'age'.

"Wah!" Natsume woke up with a yell when he found himself on Nyanko-sensei's back.

"About time you woke up, gaki." The white giant said gruffly.

"W-Where are you going?" Natsume asked, instinctively grabbing onto the white fur.

"Somewhere away from those insolent humans."

"O-oh." Then, "What about my things?"

"All delivered!" Kipo hopped next to Natsume and delivered a cheeky salute.

Natsume couldn't quite find an excuse to tell them off.

 

"Back in my territory." The giant inu-yōkai stretched.

"C'mon Natsu!" Kipo bounced on her paws, bushy tail waving around excitedly.

"Comin' Ki." Natsume muttered, yawning into a hand as he followed the over-enthusiastic tanuki into the forest that he knew like the back of his hand, the Book of Friends a comfortable weight in his bag.

* * *

 He was younger, and things had happened much earlier.

His future was once again uncertain, but he found that he didn't mind at all. Natsume smiled slightly as Kipo snuggled next to him, the both of them leaning on the snoring furry giant.

"Sake..." Nyanko-sensei murmured under his breath, still fast asleep.

Natsume stifled a laugh, and placed Kipo on top of the yōkai.

"Sweet dreams." He whispered to the both of them and walked off into the forest. He had names to return.

He forgot that he still had the body of a child.

"I'm here to return your name!" Takashi shouted at the yōkai chasing him.

Of course, the ayakashi didn't stop. Natsume inwardly wailed and ran on.

He stumbled on a root and fell into a clearing. A very familiar clearing.

"Reiko! Is that you? You shrunk!"

Natsume winced and turned around slowly.

He recognized that voice.

Takashi was immediately glomped.

"I'm not Reiko, Reiko's my grandma." He told the ayakashi.

The female peered at him closely.

"Reiko promised to visit me and sent her grandson instead?" She sounded indignant.

"My grandma's dead." Natsume told her and winced when she let the words sink in and started wailing.

 

A few moments later...

"You can call me Hinoe!" The ayakashi told Natsume like the earlier scene hadn't happened at all.

"A-ah, it's nice to meet you Hinoe-san." Takashi said. To be honest, he was starting to hurt a little, knowing that his yokai friends didn't know him, and weren't as relaxed around him as they used to be.

 

Takashi returned to the clearing. Kipo was still sound asleep. He slowly crawled near the white giant and froze when a huge eye opened.

"Where were you brat?"

"Returning names." Takashi replied honestly.

"... What?! The Book of Friends is getting thinner! How many names did you return!?" The giant howled and leaped to his feet, the tremors caused rousing Kipo from her sleep.

"I dunno." Takashi shrugged, his childish body demanding sleep.

He let himself collapse on the soft grass, letting darkness drown out the commotion in front of him.

* * *

 "Hello there. Are you looking for your parents?"

Takashi had abruptly decided to use his savings from before to buy some human treats for Nyanko-sensei and Kipo.

And of course, because luck hadn't favored him since he had come back, he had run straight into Touko and Shigeru Fujiwara.

"No..." Takashi let himself trail off, desperately trying to think of an excuse that he could use.

"Where are you going then? Are you lost?"

Of course, because he had forgotten that this was years in the past and he had been seen wandering around like a headless chicken.

"No. I'm buying snacks for my friends. It's a surprise." Takashi eventually said, nodding to himself firmly.

"Is that so? One of the best shops is right over the corner." Shigeru pointed to the right.

"Oh don't listen to him, the best snack shop in my opinion, is the one right there!" Touko whispered conspiratorially.

Takashi couldn't help but laugh at the familiar banter between the two.

A tinge of pain struck again in his chest. Now he wished that he hadn't been as reserved as he had been before.

"T-thank you!" He stammered out and ran away before his strange demeanour could be noticed and called out on.

 

Around the corner, where Shigure had pointed, Takashi panted, clutching the money pouch to his chest. He slumped against the wall, and bit down on his lower lip to stop the tears that threatened to fall.

After a moment to compose himself, he rubbed his eyes clumsily and walked on.

He was in a better place now, everything could begin again. But then why did he feel like he lost everything…?

He wanted to cry again. Natsume shook his head hard and clenched his fists around the pouch.

“I’m going to buy some snacks.” He muttered to himself, and forced his feet to move towards the snack shop.

 

“Where were you?” A giant eye opened.

“I bought a snack for you and Kipo.” Natsume said, reaching the jar of biscuits out.

There was a moment of silence when Natsume realised that the jar was dwarfed several times by the giant yōkai.

Finally, Nyanko-sensei ‘harrumphed’ and turned back into a calico cat with a ‘poof’. Takashi opened the jar and handed a biscuit over.

The bushes nearby rustled and Kipo trotted out, nose twitching.

“It smells nice.” She said and sat down eagerly, obviously waiting for Natsume to feed her.

Natsume obliged, and the biscuits were quickly demolished between the two yōkai.

* * *

 There was something breathing down his neck, Natsume thought. He instinctively punched upwards. There was a yelp.

Ah, it’s just Nyanko-sensei again. He smiled and went back to sleep.

“I just tried to eat you and you go back to sleep?” Madara howled at the sleeping boy.

“He punched you!” Kipo sounded entirely too delighted.

“That brat!” He seethed, glaring daggers at the unassuming child.

“Shut up Nyanko-sensei.” Natsume mumbled under his breath and flipped to the other side.

Madara gaped and snarled at the sleeping boy.

“How dare he give me such a lowly name!”

“Fits you, Nyanko.” Kipo sniggered, and hopped away a moment later when Madara snapped at her.

She stuck out her tongue and scampered off to do some more exploring.

* * *

 Takashi ran into the Fujiwaras again a few days later, this time with Kipo and Nyanko-sensei trailing after him.

"H-Hello.” He stammered.

“Oh, hello.” Touko greeted. “Did your friends enjoy the snacks?”

Natsume cast a glance back. Both yōkai nodded.

Touko blinked, and there was something in her eyes that made Takashi look down.

“Would you like to join us for lunch?” She offered. “We made extras.”

“Ah, no, I don’t want to trouble you…” Takashi mumbled, even though the offer was very tempting- berries only filled you up so much.

“It’s fine dear. My house is only a short distance away.” Touko smiled. Natsume looked down to hide the glistening in his eyes.

 

“Hey, I never did get your name.” Shigeru crouched down and said.

“Natsume Takashi. My name is Natsume Takashi.”

“You know, you can come by anytime for a meal. I’m sure Touko won’t mind the extra company.”

“I won’t, it gets lonely when Shigeru goes off to work.” Touko called over from the kitchen.

Takashi attempted a smile. It just made the tears that had gathered ever since he met the Fujiwaras flow from his eyes down his cheeks.

Shigeru startled and awkwardly hugged him. Takashi instinctively wrapped his small arms around the man’s neck, the tears still coming.

“Thank you.” He mumbled.

Behind him, Kipo and Nyanko-sensei sat in silence. Nyanko-sensei looked away while Kipo padded forward and nuzzled against Takashi’s cheek.

 

“Why don’t you stay over at the humans’ place? It has good food.” Kipo suggested.

“I don’t want to inconvenience them.” “I’m not staying with **humans**.” Natsume blinked and gave Nyanko-sensei a disappointed look. The calico cat folded his arms and pointedly looked away, sniffing derisively.


	3. Chapter 3

Somehow, things weren’t the same, but they were fine. Natsume laughed as Kipo chased after butterflies.

It was relaxing, just sitting under a tree and watching his friends enjoy themselves.

“What’s that?” Natsume looked up at Kipo who waved a paw at a house.

“I’m gonna check!”

“Kipo! Wait!” Without a second thought, Natsume stood up, scooped up Nyanko-sensei and ran after his tanuki friend.

The little brown animal was merrily skipping towards a house that looked very familiar.

Natsume frowned in concentration. Actually, now that he thought about it, it looked a lot like Tooru’s…

“There’s something inside!” Kipo called and hopped on a pail. There was a loud ‘bang’ sound from Kipo’s weight hitting the hollow metal bucket. She then scrambled onto a table that was placed next to the pail and jumped through the window.

“Idiot. That low class doesn’t even know how to tell that someone is using seals.” The calico cat muttered, still in Natsume’s arms.

Natsume didn’t reply. He was scanning the area, trying to find a bigger entrance that would fit him.

He blinked. The door right in front of him was slightly ajar. Natsume supposed that perhaps he had been too preoccupied to look at the obvious route.

Takashi gingerly grasped the doorknob and pulled. The door creaked.

“Hello? Sorry for intruding…” He trailed off, looking at a white-haired man and a very familiar sandy-haired girl.

“Hello there.” The man greeted warmly. Takashi took note of the numerous yōkai that were sitting and standing next to the old man, and hesitantly smiled back.

“Natsu! Look at that!” Kipo waved to the paper the two other humans had been focusing on.

“Kipo, don’t run off like that.” Takashi muttered, stooping down to grab the tanuki, taking care not to disturb the yōkai.

“…You can see the ayakashi?” The old man asked, eyes gleaming slightly. The young Tooru leaned forwards as well.

“…Yes?” Natsume replied nervously. He knew that Tooru had said that her grandfather loved studying yōkai, but experience had taught him to be wary of all adults.

“Are there any here?”

“…” Natsume eyed Kipo, Nyanko-sensei, then looked at the various ayakashi around the house.

“You could say that.” He eventually said.

“Really? What do they look like?” Tooru inched closer. Natsume took a step back out of reflex.

“Watch it!” Someone shouted. He yelped and fell back. “Ouch…”

“Sorry!” He rolled over and scooped up the small ayakashi in his hands.

“There’s an ayakashi there?” The old man looked excitedly at the empty space in Natsume’s hands.

“If you want to talk to a proper ayakashi, you should talk to a high-class one like me.” Nyanko-sensei spoke up, evidently having enough of being ignored.

“Wow! I can see you!” Tooru cheered.

Natsume sat down carefully on the floor and couldn’t quite help his smile.

* * *

 

_The end was near, they were coming. Run. Run. Run-! No! They were catching up! ‘Stupid boy, waste of space!’ Smack! Hurthurthurt. Alone. Abandoned. Forest, woods, so dark, so many tall trees, hurts, monsters! Chase, runrunrun!_

Madara woke up from his light nap, frowning at the human boy next to him. Just what kind of life had this boy been living? He glanced at the tanuki rolling on the grassy area, drool dripping out of her mouth.

Pow! Madara winced and drew back.

“Stupid human.” He muttered, rubbing his snout where the fist had connected. It was starting to become more routine than a real desire to eat the boy.

_He wasn’t even hungry anyway._

He lay on his paws and glanced around at his surroundings before settling back into sleep.

* * *

 

“Nyanko-sensei, get off me!” Takashi complained, pushing the calico cat off him. The pudgy cat huffed and hopped off the boy’s stomach.

Takashi got up, ignoring how his shirt and trousers were dampened by the cold dew.

“What are you gonna do today, Natsu?” Kipo asked.

“I don’t know.” Takashi said haltingly. He was supposed to go to school, as per the laws, but…

“Can we go see Tooru and her grandpa again? They make nice cookies.” Kipo said eagerly.

“…Okay.” Natsume agreed cautiously.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust them- he did. Tooru was a friend that he wouldn’t give up for the world. But the part of him that was still a child was uncomfortable being around an adult.

He recalled the nightmares that he once had, of fear, of being shunned, of going hungry because he shouldn’t be an ‘attention seeking brat’.

“Oi! Brat!” Nyanko-sensei called to him. Takashi was jerked out of his thoughts by the calico cat.

“I’m coming!” He responded, running up the hill, the dark thoughts pushed aside. The past was the past; he wouldn’t continue to dwell on them any longer.

* * *

 

“Sorry for intruding.” Takashi tried not to look at the couple who were smiling warmly at him.

“It’s fine, dear.” Touko said. It reminded Takashi of the time when the couple had fought to get custody of him. He put his hand to his chest, and felt a comfortable warmth.

“Touko cooked fish. There’s plenty enough to go around.” Shigeru said gently.

“A-Ah… Thank you.” Takashi whispered.

Madara and Kipo shared a look.

“The humans are good for Natsu.” Kipo whispered.

“I suppose. Touko does cook good food.” Madara replied in a hushed tone, looking contemplative.

“Greedy pig.” Kipo muttered. That earnt her a kick to the head.

“Natsu! The meanie’s bullying me again!” Kipo cried, hopping onto Takashi’s lap. Madara looked like he wanted to retort, but refrained at the presence of the two humans.

Kipo stuck her tongue out. She, after all, had no such problems.

Takashi smiled, feeling a lot like a child again.

There was no need to worry anymore, it would all be fine. He told himself.

He just wished that he believed it.

If he cried silently while eating and the couple watched him with sad eyes, neither of them said anything. 

* * *

 

Somehow, he ended up staying with the Fujiwaras anyway.

It made him really happy, knowing that they really did like having him with them.

Nyanko-sensei grumbled a lot in the first day, but after tasting more of Touko’s cooking, he stopped complaining.

“You’re getting fatter.” Kipo pointed out, safely on Natsume’s lap, covering herself with an illusion to let herself be seen by the Fujiwaras. (She got food out of this too.)

Nyanko-sensei gave her a dirty look and ignored her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the late update. I got stuck somewhere in the middle and rushed the rest. Anyone has any ideas on where I should take this?  
> To all those who commented, thanks for the comments! :)


	4. Chapter 4

“You do know,” Nyanko-sensei told Takashi one day, “That normal illusions created by yōkai cannot be seen by humans that are not spiritually sensitive?”

“But the Fujiwaras aren’t...” Takashi started uncomfortably.

“They’re not. It’s the brat that’s not normal.” Nyanko-sensei said, lying on Natsume’s lap.

Natsume thought back to when he had first met Kipo. She had burst her illusion before anyone could see the illusion of his uncle, as if she knew that her illusions could be seen by all humans.

“Kipo is Kipo. She’s my friend, even if she’s not normal by yōkai standards.” Natsume declared.

Nyanko-sensei made an odd snorting sound, and laid down on his paws. “I never said she wasn’t.”

“Huh?” Takashi blinked.

“Forget it.” Nyanko-sensei dismissed.

“Nyanko-sensei! You can’t just say things like that and expect me to forget about them!” Takashi scowled. He pouted when the calico cat ignored him and curled up to sleep.

* * *

 

Takashi liked to think that things were the same.

But the truth was that they weren’t.

The Fujiwaras were still as kind to him as ever, but he felt like there was something missing- something that had been present before.

Natsume pressed his lips together and exhaled through his nose.

He missed someone who understood him.

“What are you daydreaming about?” Nyanko-sensei asked, thankfully interrupting his thoughts.

“I was just thinking, Nyanko-sensei.” Natsume replied.

The calico cat harrumphed and jumped on the boy’s lap.

“Feed me.” He demanded.

“Don’t be greedy, Nyanko-sensei.” Takashi rolled his eyes in exasperation.

“Natsu! Natsu!” And there came Kipo, bounding into the room.

“What?” Takashi asked.

“There’s an exorcist here! Hide! They’ll get you and seal you up and punish you!” She whimpered, jumping into Takashi’s lap, accidentally landing on Nyanko-sensei.

The cat hissed and kicked her away.

Natsume flicked the cat’s forehead and scooped up the tanuki.

“No exorcist will come for you as long as you’re by my side.” He said, feeling a little amusement at how Kipo spoke of exorcists like how parents would tell children that the ‘monster’ would come and get them.

“But this is a really strong one! And he has a big meanie following him around!” Kipo whined.

“A big meanie?” Natsume blinked and mentally calculated the age of all of his acquaintances. The only people who fit were (hopefully but most probably not) Tanuma Kaname, Natori Shuuichi, and (unfortunately) Matoba Seiji.

Given that Kipo said ‘exorcist’ and gave no mention of familiarity, it was most probably Matoba.

He looked at the calendar- it was a weekend. He then headed to the living room and picked up the phone.

“Tooru? Can you tell your grandpa not to do anything related to ayakashi today? Kipo says exorcists are in town and your grandpa might get in trouble.”

“Huh? Okay…”

“And I’m not coming over today, sorry.”

“Because of the exorcists?”

“Yes.” Takashi said.

“I’ll tell grandpa to avoid them then.”

“Thanks. Really.”

“It’s no problem.” She said. There was the sound of people speaking in the background, and Takashi vaguely heard Tooru yell, ‘Grandpa! Takashi says that we’re not supposed to do anything or we’ll get in trouble!’

“Told him!” Tooru said, sounding quite proud of herself. “Are you coming tomorrow? I’ll bake cookies!”

“Cookies? I want cookies!” Kipo shouted, prancing around Natsume’s legs.

“Yeah. Kipo wants some too.” Natsume paused. “Nyanko-sensei too. I think.”

Tooru laughed. “See you tomorrow then!”

Natsume hung up, and heaved a sigh of relief.

He had nothing against Matoba, but that man just made him uncomfortable sometimes.

He felt like there was something he was forgetting.

* * *

 

“Kai!” He shouted out the next day, at Tooru’s.

“Huh? As in welcome?” Tooru asked hesitantly.

“No, I mean, I forgot about Kai! He lives alone in the mountains. No wait, I think he came down?” Takashi stopped himself from further rambling when everyone looked at him in confusion.

“Takashi. You need to calm down.” Tooru decided.

“Who’s Kai?” Kipo asked.

“He’s a… a river god.” Natsume said somewhat hesitantly.

“Ah. The crybaby god.” Nyanko-sensei said, stretching out his front legs. “His river is in the nearby mountains.”

“How do you know him?” Kipo asked quizzically. “I’m with you everywhere and I’ve never heard of him.”

“Ah-!” Natsume laughed nervously.

He paused to look at Tooru, Nyanko-sensei, then at Kipo.

“The truth is…” He trailed off.

Kipo put a paw reassuringly on his ankle.

Takashi took in a deep breath, and told them the truth.

* * *

 

“Time travel? That’s…” Tooru started, then stopped. “That’s impossible, right?”

“It’s rare. But for certain yōkai, especially high-class ones, they can do it.” Nyanko-sensei said, padding around on the ground to make himself more comfortable.

Then, he seemed to come to a realisation, and turned to Natsume to give him a sharp look.

“You knew where I was.” The calico cat said.

“Yes.”

“You knew that I was after the Book of Friends.”

“Yes.”

“The deal we made, was it still the same?”

“…I included Kipo this time.”

“Eh? So I wasn’t in your life before?” Kipo asked.

“I didn’t know of you. But now that I know you, I’m glad we met.” Takashi said, smiling softly.

“And me?” Tooru got around to asking.

“I met you after you got cursed by a yōkai.”

“I’ll try to avoid that. You’ll help, right?” She asked hopefully.

“We’ll all help!” Kipo announced.

Nyanko-sensei scuffed the tanuki with a heavy paw. “Don’t involve me without my permission! But I’ll help in exchange of cookies, of course.” He added.

Tooru laughed, and Natsume felt a lot lighter than he was before.

“So, let’s see this ‘Kai’ god!” Tooru said cheerfully. “I’ll get grandpa to get the picnic basket!”

Natsume smiled.

* * *

 

“Thank you.” The god in the form of a small child said when the group invited him to join their picnic.

“Are you an ayakashi?” Tooru’s grandfather asked excitedly.

Kai’s smile froze and slowly dropped.

“Something like that.” He muttered. His eyes hardened. “Why?”

“Grandpa likes ayakashi! But we can’t see them, unlike Takashi here.” Tooru explained.

The boy seemed to study her for a few moments. “I’m Kai.” He said, and smiled.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

* * *

_The flow of time ripples and branches out, the original path strayed away from._

 

* * *

 Takashi didn’t know that the lack of exorcists with him then would earn him the companionship of a minor god who had once believed that he had been betrayed.

(Gods, even minor ones, those that had yet to lose too many of their followers, could easily rival the power of a high-classed ayakashi.)

Earning the loyalty of a god- a river god- altered things to his favour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the promised next chapter


	5. Chapter 5

Things weren’t quite the same.

Natsume remained in the countryside, staying at the Fujiwara’s and Tooru’s house at turns.

He had another yōkai friend.

Tooru’s grandfather hadn’t died yet; he could stop her from getting cursed too.

Kai didn’t leave, instead choosing to remain with them.

All these little differences added up and all of a sudden, Natsume realised that his life had changed a lot.

There were still precious people in his life that he hadn’t met yet- Nishimura, Kitamoto and Tanuma.

And…

Takashi stopped his train of thought.

There wasn’t much that he could do right now, not when there was so little he knew of the future.

* * *

 

“Hello!” One Nishimura Satoru said. Kitamoto Atsushi stood behind him with a small smile.

Takashi stared at the duo nostalgically.

Kipo looked at them curiously, and reached up to prod Natsume’s chin with a paw.

“Natsu, Natsu, who are they?” She whispered

“Do you two wanna play with me and Atsushi?” Nishimura asked.

It took an embarrassingly long moment for Natsume to realise that Nishimura was referring to him and Tooru.

“Oh! Um, Tooru?” He turned to the girl.

Tooru looked up from where she was sketching a picture of Nyanko-sensei. “What is it?”

“Wanna play with us?” Nishimura repeated dutifully.

Tooru looked at Natsume curiously for a moment.

“Sure!” She said, shrugging and pushing her belongings aside.

* * *

 

“Takashi, right?” Nishimura said after a while.

“What is it, Satoru-san?” Takashi asked.

“What are you holding anyway?”

“Uh…” Natsume panicked. He was so used to Kipo and her unusual illusions that he forgot that people couldn’t actually _see_ her.

“Is it something like those super-duper cool magical things that can turn invisible?” Nishimura pressed on, looking very eager.

Natsume looked down at Kipo. Kipo made a very good attempt at shrugging.

“Sure, let’s go with that.” Natsume said.

* * *

 

“Hey, Takashi?” Tooru asked gingerly.

Natsume, Kipo and Nyanko-sensei all looked up at her.

“Yeah, what is it?” Natsume asked, looking concerned at her tone.

“If you hadn’t been friends with me in the past, would you still have been my friend now?” She asked.

Natsume wanted to reply immediately with an ‘Of course!’, but he forced himself to stop and think. Would he really have wanted to be her friend?

At this age, before going back in time, he had already been passed around to his relatives so many times that he had lost count. He had already been hurt and he couldn’t bring himself to grow close to people.

“…No.” Takashi admitted.

Tooru’s face fell.

“But I’m glad I did. Tooru, I’m glad that you’re my friend.” Takashi said firmly. “In the future, I took a long time to become friends with you and to trust you, but I’m glad I did, and I have never regretted it.”

Tooru blinked. Her eyes were glistening. Takashi shifted uncomfortably, unsure of whether she was going to cry.

Instead, she beamed at Takashi.

“I’m glad too.” She said.

“Me three! Me three!” Kipo interjected, raising a paw into the air. “I’m happy I met Natsu, and I don’t think I would’ve met so many nice people without him!”

She then turned to Nyanko-sensei.

“What about you, grumpy pants?” She poked at the calico cat.

He harrumphed and swiped at her.

“I suppose that I’m grateful for the wonderful cooking.” He said reluctantly.

“See? He says that he’s happy that he met you!” Kipo exclaimed.

Tooru laughed, covering her mouth with both hands delightedly at the childish argument.

“I never said that!” Nyanko-sensei hissed.

“I’m happy I met the two of you too.” Natsume smiled, breaking up whatever fight that had started.

The two ayakashi stared at him.

Kipo smiled and patted Natsume’s hand with a paw.

“Yeah! I’ll be staying with you until forever!” Kipo exclaimed.

…In retrospect, that statement sounded a lot more foreboding than it had any right to be.

* * *

 

“Eh? My old house?” Takashi asked, looking up at Shigeru.

“Yes, I thought that you might want to have a say in what happens to it.”

Somehow, that led to Takashi being driven to the house surrounded by wildflowers that he often saw in his dreams.

“The smell’s really strong.” Kipo said, trotting on the hardwood floors.

Takashi smiled weakly, staring at the spot where he saw his father die yet again.

“Yeah.” He murmured.

“The wards here are strong.” Nyanko-sensei said, distracting Natsume from his darker thoughts.

“What?”

“The wards here are strong. They’re very good at keeping out those with evil intents.” Nyanko-sensei elaborated.

Natsume stared at the calico cat.

“But you never mentioned this before?” He asked.

“I’ve never been here before.” Madara huffed. “But I suppose that you mean years in the future.”

“Y-Yes, um, five years later I think.” Takashi told the cat.

“It must have been eroded by both time and the lack of spiritual energy.” Nyanko-sensei guessed.

“But it’s been seven years since I’ve been here.”

“Unsurprising. Most wards last for a year, but strong ones like these can last for a decade.” The yōkai lectured.

“Who made them then?” Natsume knelt down to examine the strange, slightly glowing lines that he never bothered to take much notice of when he was still young- younger.

Madara squinted. The ward lines had no resemblance to Reiko’s particular scent or her brand of energy.

Family members often carried a slight scent that resembled those who they shared blood ties with. Although it was rather eerie how similar Takashi looked, smelled, and even felt like Reiko.

Madara wondered if perhaps…

He abruptly looked up and noticed that Takashi was still staring at him curiously.

“Someone who doesn’t have Reiko’s blood.” He concluded.

“Like my dad?” Takashi suggested half-heartedly.

“And is extremely well versed in the art of purification and sealing.” Nyanko-sensei continued as if he hadn’t heard Takashi, his eyes narrowed.

“I don’t remember anyone else coming here.” Natsume admitted, looking up at the roof of the house.

“Of course you wouldn’t. People without high levels of spiritual energy would feel uncomfortable stepping into a place like this.” The cat scoffed.

Natsume considered that and peeked out of the door, looking at Shigeru who was standing by the car, waiting. He definitely looked like he had no intention to come indoors anytime soon.

“Huh.” Natsume said, turning back to Nyanko-sensei.

* * *

 

“Natsu! Natsu!” Kipo bounded into the living room, something stuck to her paw.

“There’s something there and I can’t get it off!” She yowled uncomfortably.

“Of course the brat would trigger a ward.” Madara muttered under his breath.

Natsume picked up Kipo and looked at the piece of paper. Now that he thought about it, it did look a lot like the ofuda that Natori often handled.

He touched it with a finger and it came off, fluttering to the ground.

“Definitely made by one of your relations.” Nyanko-sensei nodded sagely.

Natsume continued looking at the piece of paper, his thoughts conflicted. Knowing that his father was possibly an exorcist…

“With such strong spiritual power, I wonder if this relation of yours belonged to a clan.” Nyanko-sensei voiced out Natsume’s worries.

“It doesn’t matter.” Takashi decided. “I have no intention of being an exorcist, not when I have friends like you who can protect me.”

Kipo nodded excitedly. “Mhmm! I definitely can protect Natsu!”

“Didn’t I already make a deal with you?” Nyanko-sensei huffed, with no bite in his voice.

“Yeah. Let’s go explore some more?” Natsume stood up from the crouch and stretched, heading towards his late father’s room.

Kipo trailed at his heels, while Madara fell back, taking another look around the room, then he followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got stuck half-way, lost inspiration, and found it again in the middle of exam week.  
> Here, there's loads of dialogue, and we finally explore Natsume's mysterious past, starting with his strange house.  
> I'll explore more of it at a later date. For now, enjoy!


End file.
